


Odd Eye

by SeaWeedHead14



Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-02-28 21:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13280628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaWeedHead14/pseuds/SeaWeedHead14
Summary: Kibum loved his odd eye.It was rare to still have an odd eye in your late twenties, but he didn’t care. Despite what others may think about the matter, it was something that made him feel special.[Based off a Tumblr Heterochromia Soulmate AU: Where you have one eye that’s your eye color and the other that has your soulmate's eye color. When you meet and make eye contact, your eyes switch back to their original owner.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you have not watched Key's ['Shine' solo performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBouMUgf-MM&index=2&list=FLw1ZHS0gCJ5QqcVCp_KVHvw), then I highly suggest you do so before reading this fic. 1] because this first chap is based off said performance, and 2) it's a blessing to this world and everyone should appreciate it.
> 
> That being said, this is my first fic for this fandom, but I really love this pairing and have been having a lot (A LOT) of feels lately so I tried to use them in a constructive manner.

Kibum loved his odd eye. 

It was rare to still have an odd eye in your late twenties, but he didn’t care. Despite what others may think about the matter, it was something that made him feel special. Although it wasn’t that _odd_ of a pair, both were of a brown color, one was just more dark while the other was a bit more light.

Still, they were _his_. 

Ok, well technically one color belonged to his soul mate, but that wasn’t important to him. Kibum never believed in such things as soul mates and true love, even with the proof plain on his face. He had never really thought of what he would look like with two matching colored eyes, ever since a young age he had grown to love them and accept them as his own. Secretly he hoped to never meet his soul mate, that way his eyes would truly stay his forever. 

He brushed aside these thoughts swirling through his head as he finished applying the right amount of liner to said eyes. Giving himself an appreciative nod in the mirror, he slung his black blazer on and began to make his way to the stage.

Fashion editor by day and dancer by night was his type of lifestyle. And it truly was that, just dancing. It worked as a sort of stress relief, where he could rid his soul from its daily pressures. 

It had all started when he had met his now friend Taemin during one of his company’s photo shoots. He had mentioned that dance was his main forte, while the modeling gigs were just on the side. The two had hit it off right away, and the model had invited Kibum to one of his shows. Completely in awe with his friend’s performance, he became struck with his own dancing bug, and only a few months later he had become one of the club's most popular acts.

Tonight he was excited to perform a song he had written himself, with some help from his friend Jonghyun. It was a positive, upbeat song that let him show his true colors. He felt incredibly confident decked out in his borderline-dominatrix outfit, with his hair a newly dyed bright red. On anyone else the combination would have looked atrocious, but it seemed as if it were made for him.

The song began to play loudly over the club’s speakers and he could hear the desperate hoots and hollers of the many men and women dying to see him. The thought always amused him, and he couldn’t help the smirk that adorned his flawless features as he made his way onto the stage and gave the people what they wanted

His hips swayed sensually to the beat as his feet worked the expertise choreography perfectly, but it was the whip in his hand that had the audience coming undone. Kibum chuckled a little to himself, watching his very action create a new wave of screams and appreciation amongst the crowd.

It was nearing the end of his performance and towards the part where he would have to entertain a member of the audience. Jinki, the club’s owner, was always in charge of picking out the guests who got to participate with the dancers. He had a good sense of judgment, and could tell the creeps apart from the mere fans. 

Kibum was still dancing when he saw the guy being ushered up on stage. He took in the man’s height and attractive side profile and made a mental note to give Jinki some props later. As he made his final turn to face the man now sitting in his chair, Kibum stopped.

It had all happened so fast, but he knew the minute they made eye contact that something had changed. He knew the man sensed it too, as they both continued to stare at each other, mouths agape, and the performance completely forgotten.

It wasn’t until Kibum felt light tears upon his face that he quickly made his way to the stage exit. Somewhere in his subconscious he acknowledged the man tried to follow him, but the stage security intervened before he could get very far.

Kibum ran until he was in the safety of his own dressing room. Gasping for air he let himself slide to the floor, tears still flowing down his face. He sat and stared at the wall, waiting a few minutes till he grabbed his phone from the table beside him and switched it to the self-facing camera.

Staring back at him were two of the same colored eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Minho had no idea what just happened.

He felt the tears streaming gently down his face, but ignored them in his attempt to chase after the beautiful man who was escaping him.

“Key! Key, wait!”

He knew it was only the vixen’s stage name, but he hoped it would still have some sort of impact. But he didn’t have time to see if his theory was true before he felt two strong hands holding him hostage. 

It wasn’t until his friend Jinki had made his way on the stage that the men let him go, although by then Key was already out of sight.

“What the hell man?” Jinki looked at him with concern, but Minho ignored him, his mind only on one person.

“Where is Key? I have to talk to Key!”

Now it was Jinki who grabbed him and forcefully dragged him off the stage.

“This is getting way out of control.” Minho could hear the anger in his voice and felt the hand on his arm tighten. “If I knew your little crush was to this extent I would have never let you up there with him in the first place. I didn’t know you were one of _those_ guys, like seriously what is wrong with you!”

It was true that Jinki was essentially the one to blame for this situation. He was Minho’s child hood friend and the owner of the club. Minho would only stop by to visit once in a while, club and dance scenes not really being his type of thing, but he had happened to come on Key’s debut night and had been addicted to the place ever since. He thought himself a dedicated admirer of sorts, and though Key had never looked his way before, that never deterred Minho or his unwavering support. Having been concerned for his friend’s lack of a love life, Jinki offered Minho the chance to meet his desired in person and he had been more than eager for the opportunity.

Now here he was, being yelled at by said friend, and honestly he was quite offended by his accusations. The fact that he seriously thought him to be some sort of clingy pervert, of all things, was beyond hurtful. He was just about to tell him so when Jinki started.

“Your eyes…”

Upon receiving no ending to that sentence, Minho hastily removed his phone from his pocket and flipped his camera to selfie mode. It was a little hard to see given the dark lighting of the club, but angling it a tad upwards allowed some of the stage lights to seep into the shot and show Minho exactly what he had hoped to see.

 _Two matching eyes_.

The smile that broke out upon his face was warm and genuine and he could feel that same warmth spreading throughout his entire body, pooling lightly in his chest and making his heart beat a bit faster.

“I knew it!” He said.

“I knew it since the day I first saw him, he just never actually looked my way, and now…”

He was so ecstatic he couldn’t even finish his trail of thought, but one look at Jinki made the warmth inside him freeze on impact.

“What’s with that face?”

Jinki didn’t say a word, and instead shuffled his feet and looked down on the ground.

Minho was not expecting that type of reaction from his best friend. He found his soul mate for crying out loud! He should be happy for him.

“The thing is,” Jinki started, “I know Key fairly well, and I hate to break it to you but…I don’t think he’s gonna be as happy about this as you are.”

“You don’t know that_”

“Yes I do. Look I’m just giving you a warning, before you get your hopes up.”

Too late, his hopes had been up the moment he laid eyes on Key all those months ago. No way was he backing down now, especially now that he knew Key was his one true soul mate. 

Minho just sighed and faced his friend, his determination evident through his honest expression.

“Let me just talk to him first.”

Jinki stared at him a good minute before deeming him a response, and unfortunately to Minho, it was not the one he wanted.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“Are you kidding me Jink’s?! He’s my soul mate for Christ’s sake!”

“Well he’s still my employee! And I can’t just throw visitors at him without his consent.”

“Then at least give me his number or something! An address.., anything!”

“I can’t give out his personal information to anyone either, not even to my best friend. I’m sorry.”

Despite being upset, Minho couldn’t help but also be pleased with his friend’s morals. He knew Jinki was a loyal and trustworthy person, and just knowing that Key was under his protection from actual creeps, made him at ease.

He roughly dragged his hand through his hair, sighing out in frustration.

“Then what am I to do Jinki.” 

It was then they both heard the slamming of a door coming from far down the opposite hallway.

Jinki quickly glanced at Minho as if he were about to sprint right into the line of fire, but Taemin greeted them both unexpectedly.

“Jesus Taemin, what have I told you about sneaking up on people!”

The other dancer just laughed at the older man’s reaction and gave him a brief pat on the back.

“Think of it as training.”

Before Jinki could respond, Minho cut in.

“Hi my name’s Minho. You’re Key’s friend right?”

Taemin gave Minho a swift once over and took his hand in a tentative shake.

“I usually just go by ‘Taemin’ but Key’s friend could be an adjective used to describe me.”

Minho could hear Jinki laughing behind his employee, enjoying the clever pun on top of Minho’s added misery.

“Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but Key’s my soul mate and I just want to talk to him for a little bit so we can figure things out.”

“Ah, so you’re the reason Key is crying his eyes out right now.”

Minho’s stomach dropped at the comment, panic seeping into his chest and holding tight, his breathing a little restricted at the thought that he had caused his soul mate pain. _Is Jinki right? Will Key really want nothing to do with me?_

Ignoring his mini panic attack, Taemin continued to scrutinize Minho, probably making sure he wasn’t some psychopath or stalker just looking for an opportunity to get to his friend, which Minho could appreciate. Upon coming up clean, Taemin sighed and put out his hand, insinuating he wanted to see Minho’s phone.

“I’m not about to give his number out to strangers, but I’ll give you mine. Once he calms down a bit I’ll talk to him and see if we can arrange something."

Minho about threw his phone into Taemin’s hand and watched as his fingers quickly danced across its screen, cementing at least some form of connection with his other half.

He smiled at the other man as he handed back his phone and made his exit, leaving the two friends alone once again. It was quiet between them before Jinki decided to speak up.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Then it’s a good thing he had a high tolerance for pain.


	3. Chapter 3

Kibum made sure the pair of oversized sunglasses were in place before he opened the back door of the club and made his discrete exit. He never usually went the back way, but the thought of running into Jinki and having to explain everything made him feel even more tired than he already was. Plus the thought that his supposed soul mate might still be lingering about, made the dread in is stomach that much heavier and he quickened his steps before he went and threw up right there on the street.

Luckily it seemed his coast was clear and he made it to his car without any issues. His drive home consisted of a loud mix of Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga, making his cares slip away if only for the duration of his 20 minute commute.

When he arrived home he was more than happy to be greeted by his furry babies. He accepted their loving kisses and ushered them along into his room where he plopped face down on his bed. 

After the scuffling of paws subsided, a strong feeling of impending doom overcame Kibum. 

_What the hell do I do know?_

**XXX**

When Monday rolled around he decided to use one of his many untouched sick days. There was no way he was going to face his coworkers like this, the talk and gossip would be too much, not to mention the hoard of congratulations he would receive upon the ‘good news.’

“Good news my ass” He scoffed to himself as he began to get ready for the day. He had an errand he needed to take care of before meeting up with Taemin later and he was anxious to get everything back in order. 

Entering the bathroom he made it a point to ignore all mirrors, which to be honest, was fairly hard for him. His appearance meant a lot to him and mirrors were just a part of the daily routine. But now he couldn’t even stomach the thought of those two plain and boring eyes looking back at him through his reflection. Such a commonality had no place in his life. Ever since a young age he had felt special and different, but in a good way. But with his identity stripped away in just one night, everything had changed. Now he was no longer special, he was no longer different; he was just like everyone else. And he hated it.

Quickly finishing his morning tasks, he said good bye to his pups and set off on his mission. He had thought of a clever way to fix all this. It would only be a temporary fix to a permanent issue, but there was no way he was giving up on himself that easily.

**XXX**

He was running a view minutes late to his meeting with Taemin. He hadn’t thought his appointment would take so long, but that’s what he gets for scheduling one last minute.

The bell on top the door signaled his entrance to the small coffee shop and he made his way to the side windows where he knew his friend would be.

Taemin had already ordered their drinks and was casually sipping his when he noticed Kibum’s presence and got up to greet him.

“I’m surprised you actually showed. I figured it would be a whole month till you actually left your apartment.”

He smiled and hugged his friend, gesturing to his already waiting Americano.

Kibum returned the smile, but only halfheartedly. If his plan hadn’t worked Taemin would be right, and he would probably never leave his apartment again. But thank the gods for modern science.

Once seated, Taemin continued sipping his drink giving Kibum the time to gather himself before diving into what he knew would be a loaded conversation. As soon as he looked comfortable Taemin figured it was now or never.

“So, about Friday night…”

Kibum visibly stiffened at his words, but made no response. He took a stiff sip of his own drink and gradually removed the designer shades from his face.

Taemin choked on this latte, setting him into a mild coughing fit. He could not believe this! What in the world?

“But…what?...How?”

Kibum played with his straw, those beautiful features quirking up in a satisfied smirk.

“Please, like you’ve never heard of colored contacts before?”

Taemin just stared at his friend. He wanted to say he was surprised, but considering this was Kibum they were talking about, the action actually made sense.

“You are just that desperate for attention, huh?”

His words were playful, but Kibum could detect the underlining concern hidden beneath them. Trying to ignore his own destiny was a pretty bold move, but he was always up for a challenge.

“You know it goes deeper than that. It’s just..I just couldn’t stand the thought of not being me anymore, ya know. My odd eye was a part of who I am, I can’t just let some stranger take that away from me.”

“Some _stranger_? That _stranger_ is your soul mate.”

“Pfft, like I’m gonna let _that_ happen. No thank you.”

“You know, love can help shape a person too. The people we love and the people who love us in return, also help us become who we are.”

Kibum paused at his friend’s insight, reflecting upon the truth within them. But there was no way in hell he would admit that, at least out loud.

“Wow since when did you become all philosophical.”

Taemin sighed, ignoring the attempt to change the subject.

“Here.”

He slid a small piece of paper Kibum’s way.

“His name is Minho. I told him I would talk to you, so at least let me be good on my word.”

The red head stared at the name and phone number in front of him, acknowledging them, but making no move to secure them in his care.

“Apparently he’s an old friend of Jinki’s, so that right there tells us he’s a pretty decent guy. We both know Jinki doesn’t hang out with anything but.”

Their table was quiet for a moment until the dancer picked up his now empty latte cup and stood up.

“Just think about it, ok?”

He didn’t wait for Kibum’s none existent response, and instead made his leave.

Kibum continued to stare at the paper, sipping on his Americano at a slow pace. His mind was abuzz with all sorts of different thoughts and scenarios, confusion clouding up its traffic.

After thirty minutes had passed and his drink was long gone, Kibum stood from the table.

Without another glance, he grabbed his empty cup and the paper, tossing one in the trash, the other in his pocket. 

With heavy steps he made his way back home.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been an agonizing three weeks for Minho.

He had yet to hear form Key, and each day that passed only made him more and more anxious. He was pretty sure Jinki was sick of him rambling on and on about what a perfect couple he and Key would be, and why hasn’t he contacted him yet. He thought to even contact the dancer first, but Jinki strongly advised against it.

“Key will contact you when he’s ready.”

 _If he’ll ever be ready_.

Jinki didn’t say it, but Minho could tell by the expression on his face that he definitely had thought it.

The whole situation frustrated Minho more than anything.

He couldn’t understand why someone would not be excited about finding their soul mate. It was supposed to be one of the best moments of one’s life, aside from marrying said soul mate. It didn’t make sense to him.

_Is it because of my looks?_

He knew Key was a literal piece of heaven on Earth, but he had a fair share of admirers himself and he didn’t think that could really be the case. But then again, they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and maybe he wasn’t Key’s type. Not that he would know since he couldn’t even talk to the guy to find out.

“Ahh!” He growled in irritation at his unhelpful trail of thoughts when he heard the soft ‘ding’ of his phone.

_Who could be texting me now?_

It was two in the morning on a Wednesday and he had to get up for work in a few hours, but here he was spending another sleepless night thinking about his love.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he groggily rolled over to glance at the lit up screen on his bed side table.

_**‘Hi’** _

That’s it? Who the hell would waste their time to send a simple salutation as this time? 

“They must have the wrong number” He mumbled and slowly picked up his phone to shoot the person a quick reply.

_**‘I’m sorry, but I think you may have the wrong number.’** _

He stared at the device for a minute longer before assuming the person realized their mistake and was now bothering some other person at 2 o’clock in the morning.

He had just placed his phone back on the table and rolled over in a comfortable position, willing all thoughts of Key away, when his phone went off again.

Seriously?!

With more force this time he grabbed the phone again and sat up, all traces of sleep forgotten in his new vexation.

_**‘Is this not Choi Minho?’** _

What? So this person did have the right number. But he couldn’t remember giving his number to anyone new recently, unless…

“No…” It couldn’t be, could it?

Not wanting to get his hopes up, Minho tried to keep himself as casual as possible.

_**‘Yes it is. May I ask who’s this?’** _

The response this time took much longer. Minho was afraid that he was wrong after all and it was probably just some sleazy telemarketer who had gotten a hold of his number somehow and was trying to get some information out of him.

_**‘It’s Key.’** _

Minho about dropped his phone as he got up to do a little dance upon his bed.

“It’s him, it’s him! Holy shit it’s HIM!”

He couldn’t believe it! Key; his soul mate; his one and only, was actually contacting him. It had taken him quite a while, but that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that he apparently felt ready to at least take the first step, and Minho was grateful.

_But what do I say?_

Minho didn’t want to scare the other man off. He felt like he had to approach this in a calm and mature manner (despite the continuous screaming of his young lovesick mind).

_**‘Hello Key!’** _  
_**‘It’s nice to hear from you. How are you?’** _

Good. _Keep it basic Choi._

_**‘Are you always awake at this hour?’** _

Well…that was not the response he was expecting.

_**‘That’s kind of weird don’t you think?’** _

Ok, that was definitely not the response he was expecting. Maybe simple pleasantries were not in Key’s texting vocabulary.

_**‘Well you’re up at this hour too? So what does that say about you?’** _

He hoped he didn’t come off as too haughty, he was only teasing anyway. But if they were soul mates then they would have to be able to handle each other through all sorts of moods.

_**‘Wow, you got me there. Didn’t think you’d have it in you’** _

At least he wasn’t offended.

_**‘Well if we got to know each other a little, then you would know more of what to expect.’** _

Minho smiled to himself as he sent it, the thought of getting to know Key as a person, both inside and out, made his heart swell in anticipation. He truly wanted nothing more.

_**‘What makes you think I would even want to?’** _

Despite the slightly harsh words, Minho had a feeling he wasn’t being serious. It seemed more like a little jibe to him, but also as something a bit more. A sort of defense mechanism maybe? He figured there had to be a deeper reason why Key had taken this long to contact him in the first place. His reluctance of finding his soul mate had been very clear from the start. Maybe he could try and begin to find out why.

_**‘But I’m your soul mate. Aren’t you at least a bit curious?’** _

He took a deep breath waiting for a response.

_**‘To be honest, no. In fact I’m probably the exact opposite.’** _

Ouch, ok so that hurt a bit more than Minho had expected. But he wasn’t about to give up now.

_**‘That can be…understandable, I guess. But do you mind telling me why?’** _

It took Key even longer to respond this time and Minho had thought he might have changed his mind and went to bed.

_**‘Doesn’t this whole thing scare you at all?’** _

So that’s the issue, Key was scared. 

Of what though? Him personally? Or love in general? Had someone hurt him before? Minho couldn’t relate to any of these thoughts, because the fact that Key was the one meant to be with him erased all those fears. And he honestly wished Key would feel the same.

_**‘No, not at all.’** _  
_**‘But if having a soul mate is something that really bothers you, why don’t we take it slow and just become friends first?’** _  
_**‘You wouldn’t be scared to make a new friend, right?’** _

Minho mentally gave himself a pat on the back. That was a good way to handle it.

_**‘…are you always this cheesy? lol’** _  
_**‘Well, I guess I could make some room in my social circle for one more…’** _

He also didn’t feel as if Key was one hundred percent convinced, nevertheless it was a start.

_**‘Do you have any plans this Saturday? Maybe we can hang out?’** _

He frankly had no idea what he would plan for Saturday. He didn’t know what Key liked or what he did for fun, aside from dancing. Given the circumstances though, he felt as if it were now or never.

_**‘I think I can schedule you in for that day. Just text me a time and place and we can meet up there.’** _

Minho was ecstatic!

_**‘Sounds good!’** _  
_**‘But one more thing, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your real name? I feel kind of weird only knowing your stage name’** _

**…**

_**‘It’s Kibum’** _

Minho couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across his face. 

“Kibum” he spoke out loud into the empty room. 

_**‘Thank you, I really do appreciate you telling me’** _

Having been trusted enough to be given his real name made something inside Minho burst. He had already acknowledged the texting and meeting up were a start, but this made everything seem that much more real. He and Kibum were actually going to become friends, not just two strangers with a forced destiny. It was truly the beginning of something beautiful.

_**‘Ok, I can see you don’t do well without some sleep lol’** _  
_**‘Get some rest lover boy’** _

Minho smiled at the sarcastic term of endearment.

_**‘You too, Kibum'** _

When no further response came, he took that as his queue to plug in his phone for the night, or technically morning, and try to get some sleep. But not before saving his new favorite contact in his phone.

Saturday could not come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I read over this chapter one more time I was going to delete the whole thing! So here, just take it! I'm not sure what it is, but it's yours!
> 
> And as always, thank you for reading ~

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest I'm not very good at multi chap works, but I don't plan on making this very long, so I will try my best to see this fic through.
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated ~


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